Bunchland

Beth Blenz-Clucas blogs about music for kids that grownups will love too

However tired you may be of hearing about the Occupy movement, you have to be impressed with its scale and scope. What started as a camp-out in a small park near Wall Street has spread to cities around the world. It may seem stagnant now, but these marches and city encampments certainly placed “the 99 percent” issue irretrievably into the headlines.

The history of the protest movement seems to fit neatly into the concept of “emergence.” One individual – whether it be a person, a business or an ant – is pretty powerless and even witless. But when a few individuals start banding together or accidentally discovering the same things, new knowledge can be gained and big changes can occur. The whole is indeed sometimes smarter than the sum of its parts.  Read more...

The peaceful protesting party starts at 4!

Parents for Occupy Wall Street are throwing a family sleepover in New York’s Zuccotti Park. It goes from 4pm today until 11am tomorrow morning. There will be toys, snacks and a play area. And the organizers remind you to dress your kids in many warm layers!

The best part? In addition to the opportunity to teach your kids about peaceful protesting and the class divide, kindie rock superstar Dan Zanes is dropping by!

So how does the sleepover work? Lots of headcounts! Read all the details here.

Who’s going? If you’ve brought your kids to one of the Occupations, we’d love to hear from you.

Photo by BlaisOne via Flickr

What we’re reading today:

1. Five couples won babies on the radio! Well, they won the money for the expensive fertility treatments that will help them grow their own babies.

2. Facebook wants your kids on their social network. They figure that millions of kids already have Facebook profiles, so if they’re signing up officially with their real ages and everything, Facebook can develop stricter privacy controls. (Because we know Facebook has a history of being awesome about your privacy)

3. I work and I have a baby and a toddler, how do I not snap at my husband every night?

4. One NYC mom has been dying to join in on the Occupy Wall Street protests, but was worried that if she got arrested, there’d be no one to pick her daughter up from school. Solution: bring 6-year-old daughter to the protests.  Read more...